The iPod that Apple doesn't want to "recreate" has been made by someone else on its behalf.

In my drawer lies a "fake cassette player" priced at 12,800 yuan.

It's called the DPS-L2, a creation by domestic Hi-Fi manufacturer Oriolus. Its shell is a 1:1 replica of Sony's original 1979 Walkman TPS-L2 — the very one Star-Lord wears on his belt in *Guardians of the Galaxy*.

Oriolus DPS-L2 Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

Oriolus DPS-L2 Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

SONY Walkman TPS-L2 Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

This device is advertised as a global limited edition of 999 units, with physical buttons and real key travel. Even the original orange HOTLINE button is preserved exactly as it was. However, pressing this button on this device won't connect you to any hotline (the TPS-L2 could plug in two pairs of headphones at the same time, and this button was designed to let two people talk while listening to music) — instead, it activates the ambient sound transparency mode.

Oriolus DPS-L2 HOTLINE Button Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

You see, it even replicates the "useless" details with meticulous precision.

This isn't the first time I've spent money on something like this. The Sony A100 series Walkman has a cassette screensaver: when playing regular music, the screen shows an ordinary spinning cassette; when playing Hi-Res audio, it switches to a metal cassette. Even though it's a touchscreen, it pretends to be a cassette with such earnestness that I couldn't resist buying it.

Sony A100 Series Player Photo Credit: Internet

So a few weeks ago, when I came across UltraPod on Xiaohongshu, my heart skipped a beat: Oh no, here we go again.

This time, someone isn't satisfied with just pretending to be a cassette player — they want your entire iPhone to travel back to the year 2001.

An Image Watched by 1.5 Million People, Now a Reality

UltraPod didn't start with a single line of code — it started with a video.

Gigasssss, an independent Chinese developer, posted a video on Reddit titled "My Imaginary iPod 2026, Built Around Apple Music": it features the familiar column-style menu, the iconic click wheel, and that unapologetic skeuomorphic design that defined the millennium era.

Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

He uploaded the video online, and the most likely outcome would have been for it to end up in countless people's favorites, remaining forever a "what if" like every other concept design that dazzled for five minutes.

As he later shared on Reddit, the video got over 1.5 million views, and the comment section quickly shifted from "looks cool" to a phrase that makes every independent developer's spine tingle: "Make it real."

Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

A month later, that concept image became an installable app for iPhone, named UltraPod, which launched public beta on TestFlight: free, with limited slots, requiring iOS 16 or later.

UltraPod Official Website Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

Then came the familiar storyline for well-designed software: its test slots were snatched up instantly, sharing UltraPod became a trend on Xiaohongshu, and overseas outlets like Digital Trends and Yanko Design successively reported on this Chinese developer who "turned an iPhone back into an iPod."

Most concept designs end up as wallpapers, but this one was actually made into a usable product.

It's Not Just the iPod That's Resurrected

The first thing that struck me when opening UltraPod wasn't its retro appearance — it was Cover Flow.

Cover Flow on UltraPod Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

For younger users, let me explain: Cover Flow is a way to browse album covers, where records stand upright, just like when you squat in a record store and flip through a row of vinyl records with your fingers.

It was once Apple's proudest showstopper. Steve Jobs personally demonstrated this feature at a keynote, until Apple axed it during the "flat design cleanup" in iOS 7 — it's been more than a decade since we last saw it.

Apple iPod Cover Flow Photo Credit: Internet

An interaction that Apple itself "abandoned" has been "picked up" by a third-party developer and put back in its original place.

Moreover, UltraPod's inner workings are surprisingly legitimate: it integrates with Apple Music via MusicKit, so your entire music library and playlists remain intact; it also supports reading local files, with Hi-Res lossless playback fully functional.

Beneath this nostalgia-inducing shell lies a fully functional, practical player — this is the biggest difference between it and countless retro apps that you "open, take a screenshot for Moments, then uninstall."

UltraPod Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

Even more impressive are the 15 mini-apps inside: Calendar, Stopwatch, Clock, Contacts — every feature that ever existed on an iPod is here.

UltraPod Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

The e-book app can directly import EPUB and TXT files. The feeling of flipping pages on that tiny "iPod screen" instantly transported me back to my high school days, secretly reading *Underworld Student* on an MP3 player.

UltraPod Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

The camera function comes with a set of built-in retro LUTs, making photos look just like those from the now-trendy vintage CCD cameras.

UltraPod Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

Even Crazier: It Has a "Retro" Physical Case

If the story ended here, UltraPod would just be a well-made retro app. What really made me realize "this guy is dead serious" is a physical case.

Gigasssss designed a 3D-printable iPhone shell that covers most of the screen, leaving only the area showing UltraPod's interface exposed: the click wheel and that tiny display.

Your full-screen display, your Dynamic Island (you can't see it in the photo because the phone is rotated 180 degrees) — are physically covered by a piece of plastic.

3D-Printed UltraPod Case Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

Just think about the absurdity of this: phone manufacturers spent ten years eliminating bezels, pushing the screen-to-body ratio from 60% to nearly 100% — then users took out their 3D printers and printed thick bezels right back on.

A couple of years ago, tinyPod made a click-wheel case for the Apple Watch to turn it into a fake iPod; I once spent a whopping 1,200 yuan to hunt down an Apple Watch case just to disguise my watch as a keypad phone designed by Naoto Fukasawa.

Photo Credit: Not Objective Lab

Even Sony did this: the official 40th anniversary accessory for the A100 series is a protective case that replicates the appearance of the first-generation Walkman. When you close the lid, only a small window remains to simulate a cassette player running.

A100 Case Replicating the First-Gen Walkman Photo Credit: Internet